Category: 5. Entertainment

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High in the hills of Los Angeles’ Highland Park neighbourhood, Flamingo Estate’s seven-acre garden is in full bloom. “LA is always beautiful, but right now we are spoiled,” says Richard Christiansen of the recent spell of good weather, which has summoned irises, begonias, roses and camellias. The Australian-born entrepreneur and author lives here with his partner, the company’s head of creative Aaron Harvey. Together they run operations for Flamingo Estate’s eponymous lifestyle brand, known for its colourful soaps, candles and organic farm boxes.

Each season, the couple throw a party at which they spotlight a Flamingo scent. Tonight’s solstice cookout is based around its bestselling candle, Roma Heirloom Tomato. “The house and garden are purpose-built to get Alice down the rabbit hole,” says Christiansen, who has arranged for each course to be served in a different area. “I love the idea of guests moving from space to space to animate the experience. It’s necessary for people to collide.”

The rosé is supposed to be the same colour as underneath a flamingo’s wing

Tonight’s guest list is a glamorous mix of creatives, including actress Laura Harrier, music executive Larry Jackson and stylist Djuna Bel. All are greeted by handsome waiters in custom uniforms as trays of playful appetisers (potato doughnuts and mini quiche tartlets, both with edible flowers on them) circulate. From there the party meanders through the green-striped living room to a citrus orchard at the end of the garden, where grill expert Burt Bakman has been smoking local bounty over an open fire. “It’s a bit of theatre,” says Christiansen. “We love to eat with our eyes, but also our ears; it’s nice for guests to hear the fire.”

Australian chef and food stylist Sandy Ho serves lobster noodles and green curried ribeyes with smoked mushrooms, onions, pineapple and asparagus in the garden pavilion, a space lined with explosive-pink rose trees. The table is dressed with mismatched crystal glasses, filled with the Estate’s own Pink Moon Rosé, which is no longer available to buy but is brought out on very special occasions from Christiansen’s secret batch. Says Christiansen of the vintage: “It’s supposed to be the same colour as underneath a flamingo’s wing.”

Dessert, a giant pink pavlova covered with berries, takes the group back up to the house to be enjoyed with a playlist of jazz and R&B classics (a “gift” to Harvey from 13-time Grammy winner John Legend). “Hospitality is about intimacy and effort,” says Christiansen. “It’s also a two-way street. You have to show up for the person who is cooking and serving, and they have to show up for you.”

The “forgotten” designer of Paris’s most iconic Métro station entrances and art nouveau buildings is to be given his rightful place in the city’s history with a museum dedicated to his work.

Hector Guimard left a distinctive mark across the French capital in the early 1900s, creating elaborate and monumental Métro entrances whose fans of iron and glass resembling unfurled insect wings were nicknamed dragonflies.

The remaining station surrounds of sinuous cast iron, with lamps resembling lily-of-the-valley flowers and topped with the stylised Métropolitain sign that Guimard also designed, feature in postcards, tourist photos and style books. When installed in the early 1900s, however, many Parisiens were scandalised.

One critic declared the green paint “un-French” and another said the ornate signs were “confusing to children trying to learn their letters … and stupefying to foreigners”.

Art nouveau went out of fashion, and by 1913 the transport authorities had dropped Guimard’s designs. By 1942, when Guimard died aged 75 in New York, where he and his American Jewish wife had sought refuge from the Nazis, he had already been forgotten and much of his work consigned to the scrap heap.

“It may be surprising to foreign visitors but the French have never really liked art nouveau,” said Fabien Choné, a Guimard collector and head of Hector Guimard Diffusion, a company involved in establishing the new museum. “There was great opposition to Guimard’s Métro entrances. While visitors saw them as marvellous symbols of the belle époque Métro, Parisians criticised it as what they called spaghetti style and couldn’t understand why tourists liked them.”

On returning to Paris in 1948, his widow, Adeline, an artist whose work had been displayed at the 1899 Beaux-Arts salon, worked tirelessly to preserve and promote her husband’s legacy, which included about 50 residential buildings.

She donated his drawings and smaller creations, including furniture, to museums, many of them in the US, and offered to bequeath the couple’s art nouveau home, the Hôtel Guimard, and its contents to the state and then to the city. Both turned down the offer and the building was converted into flats with the furnishings scattered.

In the wave of modernism that swept post-war Europe the style was sober and many Guimard creations were declared without historic or artistic value and destroyed. Of the 167 Métro entrances that he designed – described by Salvador Dalí, who painted Tribute to Guimard in 1970, as divine – only 88 remain.

Choné said: “After the war, each time the city did any work on the streets, they got rid of Guimard’s designs. Even up until the 1960s to 70s the logic was one of destruction rather than preservation.”

The museum will be established at the Hôtel Mezzara, a four-storey building in Paris’s 16th arrondissement designed by Guimard in 1910 and which features much of his signature ironwork, including a spectacular glass skylight and chandeliers.

The building, originally commissioned by Guimard’s friend Paul Mezzara, a rich textile manufacturer from Venice and later acquired by the education ministry and used as student accommodation until a decade ago, will undergo a €6m (£5.2m), two-year renovation before opening around the end of 2027.

Once open it will display known Guimard creations including art nouveau furniture and decorations as well as an archive of his designs and documents.

“It is absurd that there is recognition of Guimard at museums around the world, especially in the US, and nothing in Paris when he created some of the most important symbols of the city,” Choné said.

Nicolas Horiot, an architect and the president of Le Cercle Guimard, an association created 23 years ago to save Guimard’s designs and documents, said it had been a decade-long battle to get the state and Paris authorities to recognise the designer’s work. He said the museum would right a historic wrong.

“After the second world war, Guimard was completely forgotten. Art nouveau no longer interested people in the urban design of the 1960s and many of his pieces were destroyed,” he said. “The revival started in 1970 with an exhibition in New York, but it was a step-by-step process. We see this museum as repairing an injustice done to Guimard.”

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It’s usually all about a statement bag for Rihanna: An ultra-rare double handbag moment via Chanel, a sardine-handled Bottega Veneta bag, rare Louis Vuitton pieces, and of most recent, Jonathan Anderson’s Dracula book tote for Dior.

But a new accessory has entered the chat—the pregnancy support belt. It’s just maybe Rihanna’s most practical pick yet, in her vast, impressive maternity wardrobe. She wore the supportive maternity belt wrapped around her bump and over a simple white tank top and silver string necklace, paired with relaxed drawstring gray sweatpants.

Photo: Backgrid

Rihanna was photographed with partner A$AP Rocky and children RZA and Riot Rose as they checked out of Le Royal Monceau hotel in Paris. The Rih-Rocky family have been enjoying their time in Paris; they attended Jonathan Anderson’s debut and Spring 2026 mens show for Dior in straight-from-the-runway pieces, and Rocky presented the sophomore show for his brand AWGE. (Where Rih and Riot sat front row, of course). Rihanna also made time to do some shopping—although with one failed Dior appointment, when the star was, for once, too fashionably late.

The pop star and Fenty beauty mogul’s Parisian maternity wardrobe has incorporated a bump-showcasing Alexander Wang cropped polo, Rocky’s own brand, multiple appearances of her canary yellow Dior book tote, and a show-stopping, shredded custom Rick Owens dress. Trust Rihanna to wear the pregnancy belt like a statement piece—striking and sensible.

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Princess Kate surprised her well-wishers by undertaking another public-facing royal engagement after revealing her true feelings about her cancer journey.

According to a royal reporter, Lydia Alty’s Instagram account, the Prince of Wales attended the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment’s Cultural Day.

She released a beaming photo as she interacted with soldiers during her key visit.

The young royal expert wrote, “The 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA) held its much-anticipated Cultural Day yesterday, bringing together soldiers and families to celebrate the diverse backgrounds and traditions that make up the battalion’s strength.”

“The event, held at Merville Barracks, was made extra special with a visit from Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales,” she added.

As per Lydia, the battalion’s Events & Efficiency Manager, Mark expressed gratitude towards the Princess of Wales for her attendance.

He said, “It’s a privilege to be here and to see the impact our support has. Speaking with guests and especially Her Royal Highness about our ongoing work was an honour.”

Kate Middleton spread magic with her presence at the event. She warmly met soldiers and their families, also praising the “battalion’s commitment to inclusion and resilience, reflecting her ongoing support for the Armed Forces community.”

Notably, the mother-of-three’s new photos emerged on social media after she opened up about her “rollercoaster” cancer battle during tour to the Wellbeing Garden at Colchester Hospital in Essex.

A new animated musical has become hugely popular with both movie audiences and K-pop fans.

KPop Demon Hunters, produced by Sony Pictures Animation, is currently the most streamed movie on Netflix globally, clocking up more than 33 million views in just two weeks.

The film’s soundtrack shot into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 in the US, making it the highest debut for a soundtrack so far this year.

Golden, a track by the film’s fictional girl group Huntr/x hit number three on Spotify in the US, equalling Blackpink’s Shut Down and Sour Candy as the highest-charting female K-pop group.

KPop Demon Hunters follows the adventures of superstar band Huntr/x.

The three members of the all-female group – Rumi, Mira, and Zoey – are secretly “badass demon hunters” who protect their legions of fans from supernatural dangers.

During Huntr/x concerts, their music is used to protect the human world from the forces of darkness.

But rival band the Saja Boys, who are demons in disguise, are their arch enemies.

Jinu, Abbs, Romance, Baby, and Mystery have been sent by demon king Gwi-ma to steal the souls of Huntr/x’s fans.

KPop Demon Hunters was directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans and was based on a story by Ms Kang.

The Saja Boys are now the highest charting male K-pop group in US Spotify history, after their song Your Idol reached number two, surpassing Dynamite by BTS.

That success should perhaps not be too surprising as top producers including Teddy Park, who has worked with Blackpink, and BTS-collaborator Lindgren were part of the team that created the album.

The huge success of KPop Demon Hunters comes as South Korean mega-stars BTS are set to make their highly-anticipated comeback.

The seven-strong group announced this week that it will head to the US this month to start working on new music.

The band is due to release a new album and go on tour next year after all of its members completed their mandatory military service.

Meanwhile, Blackpink is set to start its first all-stadium world tour on 5 July.

The band, which has not released an album together since 2022’s Born Pink, is due to reveal a new song at the start of the Deadline World Tour.

In the statement, Kamal Gianchandani, President of MAI, said, “Aamir Khan has always been a filmmaker who puts the audience first. His decision to bring Sitaare Zameen Par exclusively to cinemas is a significant show of confidence in theatres and the shared magic of the moviegoing experience. Indian exhibitors thank Aamir Khan for standing by theatres. As we continue to welcome audiences with renewed energy and world-class films, Sitaare Zameen Par will remain a shining example of cinema’s resilience and its irreplaceable magic.”